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If Billy Collins could be turned into a library
in one sentence,
perhaps he could transform me into something new:
a book with never-ending pages for me to fill with my thoughts,
a plane, a spaceship that could travel through the galaxy.

I am not bored of my life now, but a little more adventure would be great.
When Kafka writes on his pages and
loops and lines appear,
they turn me into a volcano, a comic book, a bed so I’ll always be comfortable,
or a tiger.

To awaken as a tiger,
I would pass my days in the forest,
drinking from a cool river full of natural water.
I would watch for all prey and leave a size twelve footprint in the ground saying,
“Paws Was Here!”
I would sleep in the trees, hidden in the
leaves, spying on any animal passing under me.
I would run until my legs were numb.

Terrific imagination. I like how she uses metaphors to depict herself, as something Billy Collins or Kafka might create. To me her thought process is very advanced for someone so young, or maybe it’s just that she know how to express herself, so the thoughts are made tangible.

I see Parris has having a gift of knowing how to bend the rules of reality through words. She also writes like a painter, or a scuptor. Greatwork, Parris!